Monday Minimalist: Minimizing Commitments

I used to be very involved in Girl Scouts. When you first start out as a leader, it is easy to get sucked into volunteering for all sorts of extra stuff. I didn't even start as a leader, I started as a Cookie Mom. By the following year, I was the Cookie Manager for our entire Service Unit (about 13 troops). I think they really ought to have a limiting system in place. It is easy to get burned out ~ fast! But they need volunteers.

Selma the Boa Constrictor peeking over my shoulder at Sasha, asleep in the backpack at Eagle Valley Girl Scout Camp
June 2010
I dragged my 9mo baby around in the Summer heat for 5 days of Day Camp. We had fun, but it was a big commitment. I won't be able to do it again this Summer while pregnant. It is too hot.

So I cut back on Girl Scouts. It was no longer as fulfilling as it had once been. It was a commitment I dreaded. Just as hobbies and interests can come and go, so do other interests. I'm volunteering elsewhere now, in a way I can do from home. (I volunteer for the Natural Parents Network Wordless Wednesdays.)

I finally made it to a couple local Farmers' Markets, thanks to my Mom's inspiration. (She needed me to pick things up for her, too!) I am interested in attended more local events. I want to go to art and cultural festivals. I haven't really made any yet, but I've been adding them to my calendar. At least with these, I don't have to commit. When it comes time for it, I can go... or not, as per my whim.

Do you feel overextended? Do you have some commitments you could cut out? Even if you feel stuck, you have to remember to take care of you.